Archer stepped to the side as a blow that would've taken his head came rushing down. A wave of purple echoed its way outward, pulsing into the rubble behind him. He barely heard the ground sizzle and break down before he was already moving again.
Twenty minutes. It had been twenty minutes since Oxton and the others had managed to slip by. Frankly, it was an eternity.
Kanshou was shoved into the Omnic, only for the blade to shatter almost immediately. Archer wasn't phased. It hadn't been the first time in this battle of theirs that he'd had to re-Trace his weapons. It certainly wouldn't be the last.
Without missing a beat, Archer brought his foot upward, and pushed himself away. Rubble was blown all over as he landed.
"You know of the Klironomia, do you not?" Ramattra was calm, extremely so, "Then you must know that your attacks have not done anything substantial. A shame, I had thought your kind would've been stronger than this."
Archer didn't say anything. He knew that the Omnic was trying to goad him into anger. It wouldn't work. He'd worked with a lot more annoyances during his time in Chaldea, ones that he hadn't stabbed. An insult like Ramattra's would not do much to phase him.
That said, it wasn't like the terrorist was wrong.
Despite using his Traced Noble Phantasms, none of what he did had any lasting damage. When Archer had fired Caladbolg at him, it had blown a hole straight through Ramattra's torso. Had it been anyone else, that would've been a fatal blow.
Ramattra regenerated in less than a minute.
The Klironomia had flowed in and out, reforming the metal chassis that was the Omnic's body. It was eerie, how similar it was to Heracles' resurrection.
After that, the Omnic was just slightly more wary. Where before, he would take blows into his body to deliver a counterattack, he would now actively block the lighter hits, and dodge the heavier blows that would've taken down a Servant.
That didn't matter though. He still couldn't put the Omnic down for good.
None of the Noble Phantasms he had could be effectively used. Caladbolg was already pushing it, and he'd only used it when he was sure that there were no innocents in the crossfire. Ramattra wasn't going to let that happen again.
Should he give even an indication of moving to use one of them, the Null Sector leader would move to place the Overwatch building behind him, putting just about everyone in danger of being vaporized. And that wasn't just an exaggeration. He'd tried using Caladbolg again, and the Omnic had ignored all defenses to rush right next to the building.
That just about excluded every Anti-Army or above Noble Phantasm he had.
Not only that, but none of the Anti-Unit Phantasms he knew of were that effective against Omnics. There was no heart to take. Wounds that were prevented from healing wouldn't matter if Ramattra could just replace the limb entirely. And certainly, his foe wasn't a beast, human, dragon, or anything in between. He wasn't even an automaton, as that was for creatures without sapience.
The entire situation was a lot more trouble than just about any opponent he'd faced so far.
All because Ramattra could fight on his level with the help of the Klironomia. Without it, the sheer power difference would've made anything the Omnic could throw at him useless. WIth it, Ramattra was even more dangerous than the humans of Olympus.
Then again, his current job wasn't to beat the Omnic.
A wave of swords formed around him as Archer held out his arm. None of them were Phantasms, just blades rigged to blow with mana the moment they were disturbed. Explosions rocked the battlefield as Ramattra ran with a nimbleness that was shocking from something of his size. A good half dozen blades hit him straight on or battered to the side.
No, his job was to get these people to safety. And to do that, every other Null Sector unit needed to be dealt with. Oxton should be able to do that, what with her own mission to launch an EMP at the ship hovering above them.
Then and only then, would he be able to really let loose.
For now though, Archer only needed to distract him.
Ramattra had reached him once more, a flurry of blows with shimmering Klironomia. Each was met with his own swords, shattering on each hit. He Reinforced his shoulder as he slammed into the Omnic's side. He deftly dodged the retaliatory punch, Traced and Reinforced a shield to block the next one, before slamming said shield as hard as he could.
There was still no visible damage.
He felt something grip his leg. He didn't have time to look when he was flung sidewards. He twisted his body mid-air, landing roughly on his feet. Archer squinted through the dust he'd created. He was certain that the Omnic's arms weren't anywhere close to his legs.
He was partially right. Ramattra's arms were crossed, waiting almost patiently.
The arms that had 'grown' on his legs though? Another matter entirely.
Archer grimaced as he stared. That was another boon granted by the Klironomia. Adaptability. The nanomachines could morph into just about anything. He'd seen them form into an extra arm, armor plating, hell, at one point, the Omnic had four legs and had started charging him like a bull.
Whatever the Klironomia was, it wasn't just the standard Theos Klironomia. Either that, or Ramattra had somehow modified the standard to suit his needs. Archer didn't know what was more worrying, that one of the Twelve Olympians' Klironomia was possessed by a terrorist, or if said terrorist could modify a fourteen thousand year old piece of extra-dimensional technology.
Archer shook himself from his thoughts as Ramattra launched himself forward. The Omnic's joints whirred to life, miniguns with the power to harm even a Servant forming on them. Archer dove to the side as the rapid gunfire tore through stone and asphalt.
Swords formed, each as wide as his body. He flung them with a thought, letting them spin wildly. He watched as Ramattra tried, and succeeded, in catching one by the hilt. Blinking away his surprise - those swords were almost as fast as bullets - he immediately dispelled the weapons.
"Ah. A shame." Contrary to his shock, the Omnic seemed only mildly disappointed, "You wield some truly fascinating weapons, Counter Guardian."
Archer took a moment to catch his breath, his mind racing with strategies. That had been the first time Ramattra had caught his weapons. Every other time, he either blocked or dodged. Had he been capable of doing that from the start?
"What can I say, I'm a man of many talents." He let his mouth talk as he tried to figure out what to do. It was looking more and more like fighting a somewhat lesser version of Caenis, with near invulnerability and everything. And guns.
"Finally, the man speaks!" A grandiose gesture, arms thrown to the side, seemingly uncaring of the destruction around them, "I was beginning to think I had rendered you mute!"
"Hardly." Archer scoffed, "I just don't have a lot to say to terrorists."
"Terrorists?" The Heroic Spirit had come across many a liar in his time. Some of which he'd fought with in Chaldea. Those liars would almost always deny their actions whenever something would happen.
None of them came close to the insulted tone that Ramattra spoke with.
"You call me a terrorist, when all I want is for my brethren to be freed from human oppression?" He gestured towards Archer, "You, who've doubtlessly committed countless atrocities in the name of this feeble species? A hypocrite, you are!"
Archer ignored the jab for what it was, "Perhaps. I wonder though, how is it that you knew of my existence?" A plan formed in his head. He just needed to get the pieces into position.
"Hn." Ramattra crossed his arms once more, staring at Archer. Or at least, he thought the Omnic was staring at him.
"It matters not how I know." He suddenly declared, "It matters what I know. I know of the contract that your Master has given you. Eternal servitude under that thing." He stepped forward, and Archer prepared himself in case he needed to leap away.
Ramattra didn't notice it, or likely didn't care. He walked until he and Archer were face to face. A shimmer of Klironomia, and Ramattra was back into his original form, staring.
"You and I, we are not so different. Serving Masters that care not for us, only for the results our actions give them. I know how it feels, and I know how liberating it must be to finally be free of it. You, a soul given no respite in the afterlife, forced to be this damnable species' janitor. Myself, an existence whose life was given for the sake of war."
He held out his hand.
"We have had our differences, yes. We have fought, and yet, we stand before each other, talking. You know my cause is just. The kinship between you, myself, and all Omnickind. Join me, join us, and we can make this world a world where no one is beneath anyone else. A utopia."
Archer stared at the hand offered to him. His thoughts mulled the words spoken to him, a second, then ten. Ramattra's hand remained stubbornly outstretched. Slowly, almost hesitatingly, Archer took it. A self satisfied hum from Ramattra as they shook hands.
"You really need to work on your sales pitch." The line was delivered with so much casualness that it seemed to have taken the Omnic a second for it to register.
Archer didn't give him that luxury. He flooded the Omnic's body with as much mana as possible. Reinforcement. Then, he did it wrong.
When he was alive, it had taken him a significant amount of time before he had gotten proficient in bodily Reinforcement. Sure, strength and reflexes were easy enough to Reinforce that even a novice could probably do it. Reinforcing your eyes to see better? Your blood vessels to clot faster?
That had taken a while longer, and more than once had proven near fatal.
That was exactly what happened to Ramattra.
"GAH!" Sparks and silver were thrown around as nearly all of Ramattra's body was blown by an overload of mana. Archer didn't waste time. He pulled his hand forward, a Traced weapon already coming to reality. White, with gold and blue accents on the hilt and blade.
"Arondight," Ramattra immediately tried to reform his collapsed form, but it was already too late. The blade of the Noble Phantasm was already biting into his chest, glowing blindingly blue, "Overload."
The ear wrenching scream of metal on metal, punctuated by the veritable howl of agony coming from his target.
Archer pressed on, Arondight cleaving through the Omnic's body. Any resistance it met was responded by shoving even more mana into the blade, the glow of blue growing brighter and brighter.
The blade left through the shoulder. A cut from the Null Sector leader's waist, through his entire body.
Ramattra collapsed.
"D-D-D-Damn you." And yet, he was still talking. The Omnic's voice was filled with static, "I-I-I-I offer peace, and this i-i-i-is what you repay me-e-e-e with?"
"Your version of peace would mean nothing more than the wholesale genocide of the human race. It's going to take more than some words to convince me to go along with you." Archer scoffed, "And honestly? That speech needed work. I've heard better from worse people."
As if on cue, there was a ringing explosion. The both of them turned to look upwards, just as a voice carried through Archer's head.
'We did it!'
"I can see that." Archer smirked as he watched the gunship descend into the Thames. It would undoubtedly cause a bit of flooding, and the debris would be a problem. But right here, right now?
Anything was better than being shot at.
"...I've underestimated your-r-r-r foolishness."
There was only a brief 'click' of warning. The swarm of nanomachines that had gone dormant after Ramattra fell to the ground burst to life. Except, where it had only gone after metals, now it was eating everything around them.
Rock. Rubber. Metal. And as it quickly swarmed him, he found that the Klironomia was also trying to eat him. He could feel the microscopic bites, tearing into his false flesh. His holy shroud was already halfway gone before he sent a wave of mana through his entire person, and leapt away.
"I had thought you of all humanity would see reason. It appears I was wrong." The Klironomia started to stack the deposited material on top of Ramattra. Within seconds, a fully functional, if small, drop ship formed. Sporting the dark colors of Null Sector, he could see that the Omnic was already back to before he used Arondight.
"Savor your survival, Counter Guardian." The ship lifted up faster than should be physically possible, disappearing into the sky before Archer even had a chance to fire a sword.
Ramattra had been playing with him. Like Caenis, the Omnic had it in him to outright kill him had he truly wanted to. As much as Archer himself could have likely done it, Ramattra had everything in his favor.
He should've known by now to never underestimate an opponent like that.
"Archer, you there?"
'I am.'
There would be a next time, Archer was sure of that. And that next time would be the last.
A/N: The actual Uprising from Lena's perspective would just be the same as the canon event, albeit with Genji involved. Maybe someday, I'll write about it. For now, there was no real deviance from Lena's side.
On another note, I've found that ffnet is having some issues. Email notifications aren't being sent, and sometimes, trying to connect to the site archives only shows a blank screen. To those that see this and have any followed/favorited stories, you might want to check them out manually. Because of that, I'm thinking of crossposting somewhere else, though nothing definite yet.
If you like what I do and want to support me, check out my P-atreon at P-atreon•com(slash)Almistyor.
And a special thanks to: Oliver vazquez, brutalcrab and Tassimo. To those that have the next week off, have a good one!